"A shameful...fire"

During the antebellum period, Blount County supported abolitionism. In 1822, local Quakers and other residents formed an abolitionist society, and in the decades following, local clergymen preached against the evils of slavery. When the county considered secession in 1861, residents voted to remain with the Union, 1,766 to 414.

Fighting directly touched Maryville, the county seat, in August 1864. Confederate Gen. Joseph Wheeler's cavalrymen attacked a small detachment of the 2nd Tennessee Infantry (U.S.) under Lt. James M. Dorton at the courthouse. A federal officer later reported that the Confederates, "not caring to hazard lives by storming the place, very foolishly, and I may say criminally set fire into the court-house and burn the enemy out; but instead of doing so the fire spread in all other directions and left the garrison uninjured. The result was all the business property and a great deal of residence property was destroyed, and the people turned out homeless. The fire did not injure the court-house, being isolated from the other buildings." A Confederate soldier, William Sloan, confided in his diary: "A shameful feature of this fire is that nearly all the victims are people of southern sympathies, and many of their sons are away in the Confederate Army."

(sidebar)
When Lt. James M. Dorton commandeered the courthouse as Union headquarters, the county records were moved to James Toole's Main Street store. As the fire that the Confederates set spread to the store, former slave Polly Toole ignored the danger, entered the building, and saved the records. A statue of Polly Toole, honoring her bravery, stands in the courthouse today. Maryville recovered after the war, in part with the help of the Freedmen's Bureau, which funded the construction of Anderson Hall at Maryville College.

(captions)
Blount County Courthouse, 1842-1879, by John Collins, ca. 1870 - Courtesy Friends Historical Collection, Guilford College, Greensboro, N.C.
George Toole House, used as Union headquarters, 1864 Courtesy The Daily Times, Dean Stone Collection
Samuel Pride House, occupied by officers of each side. Missing two-story porch burned during the war - Courtesy The Daily Times, Dean Stone Collection
Polly Toole by Sculptor Joyce McCroskey

Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.

Show me all markers in:  Maryville, TN  |  Blount County  |  37801  |  Tennessee  |  United States of America

New Providence Church
Where Houston Enlisted
Montvale Springs
Pride Mansion
Relief of Knoxville
William Bennett Scott, Sr.
Sam Houston Statue
Craig Fort - 1785
John Craig's Fort
Maryville Polytechnic School

• GPX
• KML
• LOC

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.